"There will be transitional period from January to June next year," Rusbianto added. "Let's see the impact after (that)." Both Indonesia's top two tin producers, state-owned PT Timah and unlisted PT Koba Tin, already export tin that meets the 99.9 percent requirement.
That suggests the new regulation is aimed at small-scale smelters and illegal exporters. "Some tin smelters said they are ready for the new regulation, but some other companies are not," Rusbianto said. The new rules will also permit exports of solder tin, he said. The government previously only allowed tin ingot to be exported. The government introduced series of reforms this year to give it greater control over the resource sector, centralising licensing, taxing ore exports and pushing for investment in smelters. Jakarta banned exports of tin ore ten years ago to try to curb illegal mining, but the practice continues. Decades of unregulated operations have damaged the landscape, which in places resembles the surface of the moon, and police conduct regular crackdowns on illegal miners in the main tin producing area of Bangka-Belitung.
Green groups have also been critical of tin mining in the region off Sumatra's east coast, which has 45 registered smelters in operation and dwindling onshore reserves. The new purity rules are good news for the Jakarta-based Indonesia Commodity & Derivative Exchange, which launched a physical tin contract in February and only trades tin ingot with a minimum purity of 99.9 percent. The benchmark London Metal Exchange tin futures contract has a 99.85 percent minimum purity requirement, according to its website.